Forgetful
by CaskettFan2012
Summary: What happens when Kate Castle wakes up in hospital but has completely forgotten almost the last 5 years of her life including that she now has a husband and daughter...? How will this affect her relationships...? Rating may change, unsure yet : .
1. Injured

_What happens when Kate Castle wakes up in hospital but has completely forgotten almost the last 5 years of her life including that she now has a husband and daughter...? How will this affect her relationships...? Rating may change, unsure yet :). _

**_Hey guys, this idea actually came along before my first fic but wasn't sure if I should post this as I didn't know where I would take it or if it would be a good read for you guys :) Since I got some good feedback for 'Because, I Love You' I just decided to go for it :) So let me know what you think, constructive criticism is always welcome :) _**

It all happened so fast and in such a blur, one moment Detective Kate Beckett was interviewing their suspect and the next she was lying in a heap unconscious on the cold floor of the interrogation room much to her husband's horror.

This was all Richard Castle could think about as he nervously paced the hospital waiting room floor hoping for news on his wife's condition. He had a sickening feeling burning inside his stomach that got worse and worse the more he thought about Kate just lying there, not moving. He rubbed the palms of his hands in his eyes to try and burn away the image but he knew it was futile as it would now forever be burned in his brain.

"Hey bro", Javier Esposito started "come sit down, she'll be fine, its Beckett" He then gently took Castle by the arm and led him to the nearest chair to sit down as he tried to calm his own uneasiness about the whole situation.

"Yeah" Ryan piped in, "You know she's as tough as nails and will be up giving us all our orders soon enough" He laughed trying the lighten the mood slightly.

Castle attempted a smile before placing his head in his lap and sighing heavily trying to control the tears that he could feel building up. "If she's ok, then what is taking so long?" Castle asked no-one in particular in a very low distraught voice causing the guys to glance at each other and then away, as neither had the answer.

Lanie, who had been sitting silently chose this moment to intervene, coming to sit beside Castle and placing her arm comfortingly across his shoulders "Castle head injuries are very unpredictable. The doctors will just be running tests, being thorough to make sure there are no underlying injuries.

His head lifted slightly as he looked at her and he said "underlying injuries, how serious?"

"Castle..."

"Please Lanie just be honest, how serious do you think it is?"

"Honestly Castle I don't know without the tests." He looked at her with pleading eyes, "I can hazard a guess that she will have a concussion as she has been unconscious but I really can't answer about the severity of her injuries, I'm sorry."

"Okay then what about worst case scenario?"

"Castle, I don't think it is a good idea to get into this till we've spoken to the doctors, she could just have a minor concussion and nothing more serious.

"Yeah c'mon bro" Esposito started "Stay positive"

"I can't ... I just..." He sighed heavily and rubbed his face. "Lanie I just would really like to know what they could find from these tests."

She sighed loudly "Okay, as she was unconscious they will most likely run a CT scan so they can rule out bleeding or swelling on the brain and the x-ray will be to check for fractures in the skull. When she's awake they'll be looking for the severity of a concussion, the symptoms include nausea, headaches, loss of short term or long term memory, lack of appetite, sensitivity to light, irritability or short temper and decreased attention span.

Castle nodded and his writer's imagination kicked in thinking of all the worst scenarios he could muster up. After a short silence he blurted out "Dammit! Why did I listen to her and wait outside. I knew that guy was shady the moment we brought him in."

Lanie squeezed his arm in response and went to speak before she was interrupted by the arrival of a doctor. "Mr. Castle?"

Rick jumped out of his seat, "How is she? How's Kate?"

The doctor smiled "We have ran tests on Mrs. Castle including a CT scan and x-rays and these have came back showing no other damage to her brain or skull from the impact. Since she was unconscious when she came in it is very likely she will have a concussion however we won't know if it is mild or severe until she's awake. She is stable now but we will have to monitor her for at least the next 24 to 48 hours."

Castle exhaled a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding and let the first genuine smile pass across his face "Can I see her?"

"Of course, Mrs. Castle is currently still unconscious but has been given some painkillers so it may be morning before she comes round. Please do not be alarmed if she is confused or can't recall how the incident happened as that is very often the case" The doctor replied while showing them to Kate's room.

"Thank you doctor." Castle replied before shaking his hand and entering his wife's room.

**Short chapter I know, sorry in advance! I am hoping to update again very soon please leave any ideas or criticism for me so I can improve this fic! :) Thanks very muchly **

**CaskettFan2012 xx :) xx **


	2. We're Not Married

_What happens when Kate Castle wakes up in hospital but has completely forgotten almost the last 5 years of her life including that she now has a husband and daughter...? How will this affect her relationships...? Rating may change, unsure yet :). _

Castle entered the hospital room followed closely by Lanie and the boys as he slowly approached the hospital bed. He looked down at her sleeping face as relief washed over him yet again. '_She looks so peaceful, she could be sleeping'_ he mused. He brushed the hair gently off her face and pulled the chair nearest to her bed, holding her hand and willing her to wake up soon.

After some time the boys and Lanie had decided they would head back up to the precinct now they knew Kate was going to be ok, so they can nail the guy responsible for this and prove he was also their murderer. Castle had promised to call if there was any change or if she woke up otherwise they would pop back to check on her tomorrow morning.

Kate's dad had arrived shortly after they had headed out and a nurse helped him locate his daughters room, which he thanked her for when he arrived outside. Before he entered her room he took in the sight before him, his little girl was lying in a hospital bed yet again and Castle sat right beside her side, where he always was as he held her hand, whispering to her. He smiled to himself slightly before opening the door ensuring he made sound as to not intrude on this clearly private moment.

Castle looked up at the sound of the door opening to see a clearly very agitated Jim Beckett. He smiled and shook his hand as they greeted each other.

"Rick."

"Hi Jim."

Jim gave him a small smile as he then walked towards the other side of the bed and sat down looking at her peaceful face. "So Rick, how serious is it?"

Castle resumed his position in his chair before answering, "The doctors have run the necessary tests and no underlying head injuries have shown up, but they have guessed from her injury that she will probably have a concussion."

He nodded in understanding "How did it happen?"

Rick felt uneasy having to answer this question but he knew that if it was his little girl lying in hospital he would want answers to, so he decided reply honestly. "We picked up a suspect to question him in relation to the recent murders and Kate thought that it would be best she do the interview solo as the killings were suggesting the guy struggled to cope around successful women." Castle released a shaky breath "So we waited in the observation room and when Kate insulted him he lost it and grabbed her from behind when she was looking in the two-way mirrors and threw her head against it. Hard." Castle looked on the verge of tears again now, thinking about it.

"Thank you" Jim replied honestly.

Castle laughed humourlessly then "For what? He asked "Leaving her alone in a room with a psycho so she could get hurt?"

"I meant for being honest," the older man smiled, while leaning forward and taking Kate's hand on the bed "this is not your fault. Katie is strong willed and impulsive and nothing is going to change that. She is going to be just fine Rick. He didn't want Rick to be blaming himself so he asked, "Tell me, if you could go back do you think you could get her to change her mind about going in there alone?"

Castle had been looking at her face while her father was talking and smirked at that last question "No."

Her dad smiled knowingly and affectionately whilst replying "Then don't blame yourself son. What matters is that your here for her when she needs it, like you always have been.

Castle looked him directly in the eye and saw no resentment or blame from his father-in-law for which he was grateful for, but deep down he still chose to take the blame for how the day's events had unfolded.

The two men spent the next thirty or so minutes differing from casual conversation and comfortable silence before the same nurse from before entered the room "I'm sorry" she replied speaking to both men, "but visitor hours are now over and I'm afraid only one visitor can stay with Mrs. Castle overnight."

Jim Beckett and Castle simultaneously rose out of their chairs at which Mr. Beckett smiled. "Don't be silly Rick, your her husband and you should stay with her. He smiled "Besides I'll need the sleep"

Castle nodded gratefully at his father-in-law and shook his hand saying their goodbyes.

"I'll call if there are any changes" Castle promised.

Jim smiled back at Castle before kissing his Katie on the cheek and exiting the room.

After nearly another hour the nurse had re-entered the room to check Kate's vitals. Castle awoke to this and the nurse smiled happily at him. "Mr. Castle if you like we can have a temporary bed put in the room so that you can be more comfortable overnight."

"Thank you" He smiled fleetingly "that would be great."

"Great" the nurse answered continuing about her jobs.

After she had checked Kate's vitals and filled in her forms she left the room to sort out the extra bed for their room.

"Excuse me nurse" he asked as she returned with another member of staff bringing in his temporary bed.

"Tanya" she smiled

"Tanya," he amended "do you know what time the doctor will be here to check on Kate?"

"Your wife's doctor has gone off shift and is not back on until the morning. It is also very likely it will take several more hours before she comes round from her sedatives" the nurse explained calmly. "The best you can is try to get some sleep. Your wife is doing fine Mr. Castle, her vitals are good."

Castle puffed out a breath of air "Thank you" he replied and watched as they set the temporary bed a few feet from the other in the room and sorted out the bedding before exiting the room.

He walked to Kate and watched as the light flickered across her face before leaning down and gently kissing her forehead before he slipped into his own bed for a night full of restless sleep.

Castle woke with a start some hours later and groggily opened his eyes to see that it was early morning. Apart from leaving to use the bathroom that morning Castle had not left his wife's side and became increasingly worried as she had not yet woke. He noticed some time later that she had began to move as if she were having a bad dream so Castle leant over the bed stroking her face and whispering to her "Come on Kate, sweetheart wake up it's me" calmly over and over again.

Then his heart soured as he heard her gently moan "Castle" in her groggy state.

"Hey yeah, I'm right here just open your eyes sweetheart."

Her eyes popped open and she was suddenly face to face with Castle. This made her smile involuntarily, "Hey."

"Hey yourself, you gave me quite the scare there!" He said with nothing but affection and love coming off him.

"Sorry." She croaked as she looked wearily around the room. "Castle what actually happened, I mean I don't remember how I got here, what happened or anything."

"Don't worry the doctor said that was to be expected." He smiled. Suddenly a thought sprung to him "Do you need something? Do you want me to go ring your dad? Lanie? The boys? Or Should I...?" He trailed off as Kate gave him her customary death glare.

"Sit. Calm down Castle. I'm fine honest." She smiled slightly to herself secretly thinking how adorable it was that Castle was still making a fool out himself round her after four years.

He blew out a breath of air and went to speak when they were interrupted by the doctor entering the room.

"Great to see your awake." The doctor smiled at them both. He flipped open the chart in his hands. "Now Mrs. Castle I have your test results if you're ready to hear them?"

Kate was quiet for a beat before she replied "I'm sorry. I think there has been some misunderstanding. were not married. Kate replied adamantly even as butterflies rose in her stomach. At this comment Castle and the doctor both exchanged a look of complete shock.

**Hey so this took a little longer to update than I had hoped. Sorry about that! :) I just had to include Kate's dad in this and can't believe I almost forgot, duh! :) So thanks for reading and let me know what you think? :) Thanks very muchly! **

**CaskettFan2012 xx :) xx **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys I just wanted to give you fair warning that unfortunately I will not be able to update this story for a little while as my laptop has been taken in for repairs, so I quickly borrowed a friends to post this! Never expected this to happen as its fairly new but they have said it should done within 2 weeks and boy do I hope so! If it isnt back by Sept 24th might have a breakdown cause I have to watch the castle premiere online :( I will update as soon as it is returned. Thanks very muchly in advance for your patience :) **

**CaskettFan2012 xx :) xx **


	4. 32 or 37?

**32 or 37?**

_What happens when Kate Castle wakes up in hospital but has completely forgotten almost the last 5 years of her life including that she now has a husband and daughter...? How will this affect her relationships...? Rating may change, unsure yet :). _

**I unfortunately own nothing castle-related! :( If I did I wouldn't be down waiting for Mondays to hurry up! :) **

Castle sat completely still next to Kate as silence fell about the room. He felt his heart drop to his stomach as he heard Kate's last words.

The doctor broke the silence, "Kate, referring back to the tests I was talking about... We ran a CT scan and x-rays all which have shown up no problems. If you don't mind I would like to quickly check you over now and then we will have to discuss some about your memories if you're feeling up to it?"

Kate nodded her head. "Fine."

"Great." The doctor looked hesitantly at Castle and calmly asked, "Would you prefer if Mr. Castle waited outside?"

"No" Kate replied immediately "He can stay." Castle breathed a sigh of relief at this and hesitantly turned to turn Kate and gently took her hand in his, which only made her smile in return.

The doctor began his tests by shining his flashlight into her eyes so that he could check her pupil reaction and sensitivity to light. Then he checked her pulse rate. "Ok, just a few quick questions. Any dizziness?

"Slightly lightheaded."

"Vomiting?"

"No."

"Blurred or double vision?"

"No."

"Headache?"

"Yes."

The doctor began filling in a chart as she spoke. "Confusion or drowsiness?"

"I, err..." She thought about lying but knew that Castle would soon tell the doctor anyway. "I felt quite disorientated when I woke up and I can't seem to remember things like what happened, my memories seem blurred and far away."

"Ok." The doctor stated looking down at his chart for reference. "As we suspected you have a minor concussion which we can discuss later in further detail, first I would just like to ask you some personal questions so that we can check your memory."

"Personal?" Kate asked getting defensive very quickly. '_God I hate hospitals' she thought to herself._

"Nothing too personal" the doctor injected quickly trying to make her feel more comfortable. "Firstly your name?"

"My Name?!" Kate asked thinking how ludicrous that sounded.

"Kate..." Castle said giving her a pointed look.

She just rolled her eyes. Castle had to smile to himself at this. "Katherine Beckett."

"Age?"

"32"

"Address?"

"2540 E. 3rd Street"

"Profession?"

"Homicide detective for the NYPD" Kate said exasperated. "Why is any of this information important?"

"Ok. I think that that's enough for now, I would like to speak to Mr. Castle alone quickly if that's alright?" The doctor asked giving Castle a pointed look, to which he proceeded to stand to exit with the doctor.

"Why would you need to speak to Castle alone, is there something I need to know?" Kate was quickly becoming irate, she hated hospitals as it was and she had this strange sense they were keeping something from her.

The doctor paused a moment. "I just wanted to speak to Mr. Castle in private as it seems, there are some memories you have forgotten and obviously it can be quite troublesome for patients to hear." He explained as calmly as possible.

"Just tell me." Kate said adamantly.

The doctor turned hesitantly to Mr. Castle who just looked completely shocked. He now knew that his wife had no recollection of the past five years of her life due to the answers she'd given the doctor and he just didn't know what to say.

"Ok." The doctor paused, "Some of this information may be very shocking for you to hear, do you understand?" He politely asked.

Kate looked over to Castle and he could see the worry etched on her face even as she did her best to mask it. He quickly came back to his position by her bedside and took her hand giving it a strong squeeze. "I'm here."

"I know." Kate replied quietly before shocking Castle by leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you."

"Always." This made her smile.

She looked to the doctor. "From the answers that you have given it appears as though you have lost up to the last five years of your memory Kate, most likely caused by Traumatic amnesia which is obviously due to the blow to the head you suffered yesterday.

Kate gaped in shock. '_Five years?! No this can't be happening.' _"I'm sorry, five years? This can't be right." She looked to Castle to see him fidgeting slightly in his seat and his gaze averted to the floor. "Castle?" She whispered meekly.

He looked up to see her pained expression. "I'm sorry." At this Kate felt all the worry build up inside her and she let a tear escape down her cheek. The doctor merely sat on a chair at the end of her bed patiently waiting to explain. "What don't I know?" She asked directed at Castle.

"Kate look..."

"No! Will somebody just explain to me how they seem to think that they know I have lost five years of memory?" Kate seethed.

The doctor chose this point to jump in "Kate..." When her attention stayed with the doctor he continued. "When I asked you them questions before they weren't to annoy you, I wanted to see if you had recollection of recent events. Unfortunately when I asked you your age you answered 32...?" She nodded. The doctor looked straight to Castle. "Would you prefer to tell her Mr. Castle?"

Castle sighed heavily and looked up to see Kate looking expectantly at him "Just say it Castle." She muttered.

"Ok..." He was trying to stall. "Kate you're not 32 anymore" he whispered sounding broken, "We just celebrated your 37th Birthday three months ago."

**Hey guys, I hope I got Medical bit right, did look it up on the internet but ya no :) Sorry for how long this took to update, wasn't the plan at all. My mum is really unwell so unfortunately life just got in the way. I will try to update more frequently for you guys but no promises, sorry! :) Also to everyone who left me reviews and PMs thank you for your time, this is greatly appreciated. :) **

**In answer to the question from castlelover234 ... yes, she does know Castle from him shadowing her, I am just undecided whether she will have some memory of them dating beforehand or not. If you guys have a preference just let me know! :) **

**So please review and if you have any suggestions of where you would like to see this go, am open to ideas. Criticism welcome :) Thank you very muchly :) **

**CaskettFan2012 xx :) xx **


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